Real-Deal Soy Sauce Chicken (豉油鸡, See Yao Gai)

This homemade soy sauce chicken has silky tender meat with a deep savory flavor. Learn how easy it is to make this Cantonese dim sum at home and even achieve restaurant taste. {Gluten-Free adaptable}

Cold sliced soy sauce chicken is definitely a Chinese dim sum classic. Along with crispy duck, char siu BBQ pork, and crispy pork belly, it’s one of those dishes that we order most often whenever we visit a Cantonese dim sum restaurant.

Dealing with a whole chicken might seem like a daunting task. But once you try the recipe, you’ll find out it’s quite straightforward. All you need to do is to mix the marinade, soak the chicken overnight, then simmer until the chicken is just cooked.

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The finished chicken has such a tender, silky texture and a deep savory taste with a hint of sweetness. Served with hot steamed rice and extra sauce, I can’t stop eating even when I’m full!

How to make the best soy sauce chicken

1. How to choose the right chicken

If you ask any Chinese chef, they’ll always recommend a young cage-free chicken that weighs less than 2 pounds. Because the smaller the chicken, the more the seasonings penetrate and the tenderer it will taste after simmering. That’s why if you browse a Chinese recipe site, most recipes won’t suggest marinating the chicken beforehand and include merely 15 minutes to cook the whole bird through!

In reality, it’s not that easy to find a chicken of such small size in the US. Plus, I prefer to cook some more meat to have some leftovers, since it takes quite some time to prep all the seasonings.

I prefer to use a smaller sized chicken, one that weighs 3 to 4 pounds. You can use a bigger bird as well. But note, it will take longer to cook through and it might not taste as tender.

2. Marinating is a must

Like I just mentioned above, many Chinese recipes do not include a marinating process, or they utilize a very brief marinating time. When dealing with larger chickens, marinating overnight is highly recommended, so your chicken will end up super flavorful.

The marinade ingredient list might look long, but you can probably find most, if not all, of them already sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

3. Choose the right pot

You should use a small, tall pot that is just wide enough to hold the chicken and can hold all the liquid. I often use a tall saucepan.

If you have to use a bigger pot, you’ll need to add enough water so at least half of the chicken is covered. In this case, place the chicken breast-side-down at first. Cook 15 minutes and then flip it so the chicken breast faces up.

4. Simmer, gently

The only time you should bring the broth to a boil is at the very beginning. Then you should always keep the broth at a simmer, where there are small bubbles raising to the top of the broth here and there. The very gentle simmer will produce buttery tender chicken without overcooking it. After 20 minutes, I’ll turn off heat and let the pot sit on the hot stove for another 30 minutes, so the chicken will be just fully cooked.

Deciding the right cooking time is tricky, since it can vary a lot depending on the size of the chicken and the type of stove you use. Just keep in mind that you should always keep the simmering very gentle, and check on the chicken every 15 to 20 minutes. You should cook until the thickest part of the thigh is just cooked through, to yield the best texture.

5. Slice and serve

Chinese restaurants always use a cleaver to chop the chicken into pieces and serve it bone-in. To make it easier for home cooks, I chose to carve it using a chef’s knife. I would carve the chicken into legs, breasts and wings. Then I’ll slice the parts I plan to serve and save the rest in a container.

The chicken tastes great warm and cold. I always reserve some braising liquid as dipping sauce and pour some on the steamed rice. You can also serve it with some Sriracha sauce.

If you don’t like the texture of the soft chicken skin, you can crisp up the skin under the broiler. But to speak the truth, I never feel like I need that extra step, despite the fact that I LOVE crispy chicken skin. The soy sauce chicken tastes perfect the way it is 🙂

More delicious dim sum dishes

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.

Real-Deal Soy Sauce Chicken (豉油鸡, See Yao Gai)

This homemade soy sauce chicken has silky tender meat with a deep savory flavor. Learn how easy it is to make this Cantonese dim sum at home and even achieve restaurant taste. {Gluten-Free adaptable}To make the dish gluten-free, use tamari or coconut aminos to replace the soy sauce, and use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine.

Instructions

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Stir and cook until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

Place the chicken in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Carefully pour the cooled marinade mixture into the bag with all the ingredients. Seal the bag and squeeze out as much as air possible. Massage the bag a few times to evenly distribute the marinade. Place the bag in a large deep bowl so it “pushes” the marinade to fully cover the chicken. Plus the marinade won’t cause a mess if your bag accidently leaks. You can marinate the chicken in a large bowl, too. In this case, you might need to flip the chicken 2 to 3 times during the marinating process. Cover with a plastic bag if using a bowl. Let marinate overnight.

Chose a pot that is deep and just wide enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken into the pot, breast-side-up. Pour in all the marinade with the ingredients. If the chicken is not covered, add up to 4 cups water. It’s OK if a small part of the chicken breast is not covered in the liquid.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Turn to medium-low or low heat. Use a fine mesh strainer to skim the foam and discard. When the broth reduces to a simmer, cover the pot. Simmer for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the chicken sit in the hot broth, covered, for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked. To test, you can either insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh or slice the skin that attaches the thigh to the body: the root of the thigh should no longer be pink. Soak the chicken in the broth, covered, if the chicken is not cooked. If the chicken is still very raw, return the pot to a simmer and cook until the chicken is fully cooked.

Once done, carefully transfer the chicken onto a big plate and drain all the liquid from the cavity. I usually do this wearing one oven mitt with a few layers of paper towel, with the other hand using a pair of tongs. Let the chicken cool enough to handle with your hands. Carve the chicken and slice the parts you plan to serve. Reserve the liquid to use as dipping sauce, or for braising (try using it to braise daikon radish or potato - so delicious!).

Serve the chicken warm with rice as a main or as a cold appetizer with Sriracha dipping sauce and extra sauce on the side. Enjoy!

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Hi Andy, if you use a very small chicken you can marinate the chicken at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I still prefer to marinate for just a while so the chicken is more flavorful. If you have a small pot that can just hold the chicken, then yes, you can halve the marinade. In terms of cooking time, you probably only need to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Check it doneness and steam it covered for a while if needed.

Thank you for your response! I’m used to exact recipes including temperatures (simmer is somewhere between 90C and 100C) and weights. Here’s how I did it:

– The chicken I used weighed exactly 2 pounds, so half of the original recipe. – I used exactly the same recipe of liquid as stated, since I figured whatever leftovers I might have could be used as a sauce. – I marinated the chicken for 6 hours. – I didn’t have small narrow pot so I used a medium narrow stainless steel saucepan (5 quarts), which by diameter was barely large enough for the chicken. – I noticed that the chicken was floating as I dropped it in, so I used a Japanese adjustable otoshi-buta to keep the chicken submerged, so I didn’t have to worry about any part of the chicken peeking out. – I kept the chicken somewhere between a gentle simmer (90C) and a full rolling boil (100C) for 20 minutes. – At this point the measured internal temperature of the thigh was around 60C, so not quite enough (instrument in question was a Thermapen). – After that I removed the drop lid, put the saucepan lid on and let the chicken rest in the cooking liquid for 12 minutes, removing it from the heat source. – After that I measured the temperature again, and now it was 75C measured at the thigh. – I carefully removed the chicken from the liquid to a ceramic bowl and drained the liquid through a sieve to another bowl. – I measured there was about 1 quart of liquid so I got 2x 0,5 quart plastic vessels to store the liquid. – The first plastic vessel toppled over, spilling about 1 cup of liquid all over the stove and kitchen floor. I must’ve used every curse word known to mankind and my girlfriend angrily closed the bedroom door. – I cleaned up the kitchen, salvaged the remaining liquid successfully and am now waiting for the chicken to cool down for carving. I already took a small bite though, and it’s absolutely sensational.

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Welcome to my site about modern Chinese cooking, Asian inspired dishes, and classic recipes cooked in my small Austin Kitchen. When it comes to cooking, getting the best taste is always my priority, but I try to take a less labor-intensive approach. Originally from Beijing, now I live in the US and travel around the world. Start browsing recipes right away or you could learn more about me here.